A hard to believe chain-mail / Απίστευτο chain-mail

Found the foloowing email in my mailbox today. Could this be a true story?


Greetings,

My name is Elena, I am 32 years old and I write you from Russian province. I work in local library and I can use computer after work when possible. Our situation is terrible and I send you this letter in despair and hope.

I have daughter, she has 8 years, her father abandoned us and we live with my mother.

As effect of crisis lately my mother lost job (bakehouse where she was used to work has been bankruptcy) and our situation became awful.

Gas and electricity cost a lot in our city and we unable afford to use it for heating our home anymore.

Winter is get in and weather becoming colder every day. We very much distressed and we donot know what to do.

Now we can use the only one way to heating our home - it is to use portable wood burning oven which give heat with burning wood (fire). We have sufficiency wood in our district and this oven will be heating our household during all winter for minimal cost.

The trouble is that we cannot buy this oven in our local market since it cost 8192 rubles (equivalent about 191 Euros) and we cannot collect so big amount.

If you own any old portable wood burning oven and if you ended to use it, we will be very happy if you can donate it for us and organize shipping of this oven to our adress (180 km from Moscow). That oven usually different and weight about 100kg.

Please let me know if you can help and I will write you our post adress

From all my heart I wish you a Merry Christmas. I wish that the New 2010 Year will bring you hapiness and all your dreams come true!

Elena with my family.